Gold has long been known as a world currency, a store of value and a means of transaction.

Indeed, this precious metal is considered to be one of the most obvious and durable investments for diversifying an investment portfolio. 

Similarly, when the market is going through turbulence, this yellow metal could represent a safe investment. As a result, faced with numerous economic and geopolitical fluctuations, many investors want to sell their gold to grow their assets. 

This article explains how to buy back gold. 

The principle of buying gold on the financial market

Investing in precious metals means investing your money in a tangible product. Both gold and bullion are stable precious metals that can be stored for many years. In times of crisis, gold has reached its highest value. 

Similarly, the reliability of the yellow metal has already been confirmed at the most sensitive moments in financial history, such as the 1979 oil crisis, the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid 19 pandemic. Be that as it may, gold is a long-term investment, a way of investing in uncertain times.

What's more, gold's negative correlation with other assets means it can balance investments in times of crisis. It is a universal asset whose value fluctuates but which always protects against inflation and economic imbalances.

How does a gold buy-back work ?

A gold buy-back is a process whereby individuals or companies sell their gold in the form of jewellery, coins or bars to precious metal dealers or specialist jewellers. The process can be simple or complex, depending on the nature of the transaction. Here are the different stages in buying back gold :

1. Valuation of the gold
2. Assessing the value
3. The purchase proposal
4. Accepting the offer
5. Payment

It is important to note that the price of buying back gold may vary depending on the market and the purity of the gold.

How do you estimate the value of a piece of jewellery or a precious metal ?

Gold buying and selling professionals use a variety of testing techniques to assess and verify the value of gold and to identify precious metal alloys and their thousandths. One or more methods are used to confirm the authenticity and content of the gold.

Searching for the hallmark

In the jewellery industry, a hallmark is a small tool used to mark jewellery. It proves the gold, silver and platinum content and at the same time its authenticity. Each hallmark consists of an icon and a border. Hallmarks make it easy to determine how many carats a piece of jewellery has been forged. In France, for example : 

• A seahorse suggests pure gold, i.e. 24 carats
• An eagle's head indicates an 18-carat alloy
• A shell can identify 14-carat gold
• A trefoil is used to identify 9-carat gold

However, hallmarks vary from country to country and from goldsmith to goldsmith. There are therefore thousands of hallmarks. However, it is not always possible to read the carat value directly. 

In some cases, this is because the colour has faded over time. In other cases, the problem arises because the jewellery is too fragile for a hallmark to be applied.

The acid test

If it is not possible to determine visually whether an object is gold-plated, an acid test becomes essential. This is an essential test for validating gold and 95% of the time it is sufficient. Precious metal test kits contain different types of acid vials to test the gold according to the concentration of hydrochloric acid and to define the carats.

Given the difficulty of obtaining this acid and the safety risks associated with using this method of gold analysis, it is best to leave it to the experts.

The first step is to rub the piece of jewellery to be tested on a fragment of black jasper called a "touchstone", depositing a few milligrams of gold. A drop of acid is then poured over the trace and the reaction to the acid is examined.

If the mark left on the touchstone disappears, the object tested is not gold. If the mark turns red, the gold is one carat weaker than the acid used. If no reaction is observed, the gold corresponds in carat to the acid used.

As experts in the field of gold repurchasing, Godot & Fils has extensive expertise in valuing your gold and jewellery. This is a unique opportunity to buy back your gold safely and at the best possible price from specialists in the gold market.